


Paradise XIII: Partners

by FictionWriterD



Series: Paradise [14]
Category: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/M, Romance, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26530084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionWriterD/pseuds/FictionWriterD
Summary: Partners Caius and Lightning are stranded on a strange tropical island after a detour through the Historia and now must find a way to return to their time. However, events on the island make them question their relationship...and make them wonder if it can be explored further / Caius/Lightning, lemon later
Relationships: Caius Ballad/Lightning
Series: Paradise [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561291
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Mogna the moogle made her way into the last room at the resort. The place had become full recently and considering the fact that it wasn't even the season where business boomed made her grateful that she made the switch to Mog's Resort and stopped working as a clerk at Mognet. Sure she was a waitress slash bus boy kind of employee, but at least she met people and got into interesting situations.

But after taking her breakfast cart to the last room on the second floor of the resort and entered, she felt like she walked into a tense calm.

Mogna had always appreciated the simple luxuries of the resort's rooms. All white walls and ceiling carved with intricate designs that were otherwise bare. The rooms which the guests stayed in was pretty much one room only with a small bathroom adjacent to it. There wasn't a kitchen or anything like that since room service provided breakfast in the morning and the guests all ate in the café for dinner at night.

From what Mogna had been told there was a young couple staying in this room and from there she thought she would see them right away when she entered the room. She saw one of them right away. A tall lean muscular man standing near the balcony doors with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He seemed to be in thought when the moogle entered his presence.

Being a bit nervous around this enigmatic man, Mogna set about her duty. "Excuse me sir? I'm Mogna of Mog's Resort."

She pushed the cart up to the small circular table in the center of the room. The man turned his attention to the furry little creature, his voice sounding smooth and enigmatic. "Mogna of Mog's Resort? So that's where we are?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience, kupo. You and your friend seemed a bit out of it when you arrived here in the middle of the night, kupo," Mogna said as she began to get the cart undone, which held a few plates of food that would be considered a delicacy for breakfast.

"Call me Caius, and we did. On behalf of my partner I do apologize for that," he said, taking a seat at the table.

"Where is your partner, by the way, kupo?"

The man pointed towards the large white feather bed not far from where the table was. Laying just under the covers was a young woman in her early twenties with long pink hair and laying fast asleep. She had been asleep ever since she hit the mattress. While she had slept since they had arrived Caius had been rather restless and had decided to watch over her until she would wake up.

"Lightning won't be too happy that we stayed here, or that I have asked for a week stay either," Caius said, a little smirk formed on his lips. Though he kept his devious thoughts to himself, he couldn't wait for her to wake up so he could tell her.

He'd also be able to let her know that their access to the Historia had been severed and that they would not be able to return home anytime soon. She was going to blow a gasket.


	2. Chapter 2

To say Lightning wasn't at all happy when she woke up was an understatement, but she had this scary habit of keeping her anger in check only to unleash it later when the person least expected it. Caius received the full effect of that white hot temper the moment he told her that he had requested a full stay at the resort. That meant a full week, seven days in a tropical island that neither of the guardians knew.

She had first got into his face, then pounded her hand on his chest. It was hard but barely made him flinch. Next she shouted at him about duty to the goddess and after ten minutes of that a small and nervous voice managed to sneak in to remind them of something very important.

"B-Breakfast is…here, kupo."

The moogle who had brought the cart to the room had been in the same spot when the fiery Lightning woke from her slumber, and though he had plenty of opportunities to leave and not witness her wrath, once she had started shouting he found himself frozen to the spot.

Lightning sighed realizing how scared the little creature was. A tinge of regret came over her, but her anger only went down a miniscule. "Sorry about that."

Caius had not been moved by his partner's anger, he was used to it. However he did understand why she was angry in the first place and it wasn't just because of the island retreat.

"Lightning, even we need to conserve ourselves at times. I know you take pride in our duty as Etro's protectors, but we should relax when we can as well."

Lightning went and sat down at the small table where the moogle was beginning to serve breakfast with shaky paws. He was wary around the woman and rightfully so, though he had no real reason to fear her as she wouldn't hurt him regardless of how angry she was. She peered over to Caius, "We'll talk about that later. For now, shut up and eat."

Caius couldn't help but smirk.

After eating a quick breakfast (realizing that she had not much of an appetite at the moment) Lightning had left the room and went outside onto the beach. Not even the beauty of the island could one hundred percent distract Lightning from her predicament.

She was beyond upset at what Caius had done, but at the same time she knew he had a point, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Being a guardian for a goddess did take its toll on her, but she had always powered through it and made it through to the next day.

Long as it kept her family safe she would continue to do it.

There was a café just outside the resort and without even stopping to examine her surroundings Lightning went past it. The moment she stepped out onto the sand was whne one of the secrets of the island took form. Her outfit went from her Etro guardian armor and into something more appropriate for the tropical climate.

Her outfit changed into a form fitting black string bikini, and she also wore a black shear jacket that went unnoticed by her. She didn't even notice the change in her attire as she approached the front counter.

The moogle behind the counter saw her and greeted her according, "Hello there miss, kupo! How may I help you?"

Lightning put both her hands on the counter, "You sell drinks here? Nothing fancy but I need to feel a sting."

The moogle spun in the air, "Well, we don't serve alcohol here if that's what you mean, but there are some juices to guarantee you'll feel like you got kicked by a chocobo, kupo."

Thinking that was better than nothing, Lightning gave in, "Alright, whatever guarantees me a kick."

It was less than a minute later that the moogle returned with a glass full of ice and a yellow liquid in it and a sour smell coming from it when she sniffed it. It sent a shock to her brain, but that was precisely what she wanted. Then she took a drink, some of the ice fell out of the glass and down her chest.

It was here that Lightning noticed her new outfit.

"The hell is this?!" She set the glass on the counter and after checking to make sure it wasn't an illusion, in an action uncharacteristic of her she stomped her foot into the sand. Her body being this exposed was new to her, for she never did go on vacation back home in Bodhum even when she was with her sister and her husband. Because of that her skin was a pale white and the black bikini made it stand out more. "This is getting more infuriating by the minute…"

"I think you look good, miss, kupo." The moogle had tried to make her feel better but all he got in return was a cold stare from the pink haired warrior. He shut up after that.

"I really need to blow off some steam now," said Lightning turning her attention from the outfit dilemma, and as she looked around she noticed something that got her attention. It was coming from deeper in the island, but as she didn't care about anything else at the moment other than to let out some of her frustrations, she began to walk deeper into the island.

Caius hadn't been too surprised when his guardian armor was replaced by a black tank top and black swim shorts though he had no intention to go into the water at the moment.

Asking where Lightning was turned out to be easier than he had even anticipated. Of course she was hard to miss and even harder to forget due to her hair color sticking out like a sore thumb. The moogle who ran the café said something about her heading further inland, and the guardian thanked him before moving on.

Past the jungle and into the deepest part of the island Caius came across the waterfall and lagoon which was a treasure of the island according to the moogles. Down a slope in a gorge the waterfall was a few stories tall and in the lagoon were rocks that formed a path to the center where a large flat boulder stuck out of the water. The pool itself was deeper than it looked and Caius found this out when he heard a splash on the far side of the lagoon, and he went around seeing his partner making her way out of the pool. She was soaked form head to toe and her new bikini appeared to be even tighter on her. Lightning noticed him right away but didn't seem to be bothered as she got her towel. In fact she seemed very calm, in stark contrast to earlier in the day.

"So this is where you were," he said crossing his arms over his massive chest.

Lightning dried her face, loose strands of her hair clung to her wet skin, and she was slightly shaking though Caius couldn't quite figure out why. "Surprised you found me so fast." She tossed the towel onto a nearby rock and looked up at the waterfall.

Seeing Lightning wear such a feminine outfit was a welcome change to Caius, it made him see his partner in another light. "The moogles here are very attentive." He looked up at the waterfall, and he figured out what had transpired. "You leapt from the top of the waterfall, didn't you."

His partner smirked, "Seemed like a good way to make me feel better. Regardless of the danger it brought."

"So I take it you're feeling better now?"

She turned her gaze to her partner, "A bit, but don't think you're off the hook just yet."

"Then why don't you go take another dive, and I'll just wait until you do forget."

Lightning chuckled and took another deep breath before making her way up the waterfall.


End file.
